Anyone seen the movie Winter's Bone?

I had never heard of this movie until Jennifer Lawrence got nominated for lead actress at the Golden Globes and was mentioned in the Entertainment magazine. I don't think that movie was distributed at even one theatre where I live. I rented the DVD and thought it was pretty good. It's an artsy kind of movie. The location is Missouri- Netflix mentioned it takes place in the Ozarks. I thought it was very well done. Definitely not a commercial film and Jennifer may be the only one to get any kind of recognition for it. It did win one of the international film festival awards though- I think Sundance.

I thought the writing was beyond awful. I was laughing at some of the things that were said such as "I already told you to shut up once with my mouth..." Beyond awful. I felt a lot of the writing was wrong for the characters. The acting was good, though. It just was not even close to one of my best movies of the year.

Co-incidentally I saw a lengthy trailer for the movie on SuperChannel yesterday afternoon and wondered why I had never even heard of it. It will start playing on superchannel later this month apparently.

I kept watching the trailer but never made up my mind if it was something I thought I would want to watch or not.

I saw this movie back in May at the Seattle International Film Festival.

Loved it. I think it was one of the best movies I've seen this year. The acting was marvelous all around and Lawrence was excellent. No flashing lights or bells and whistles, just great acting and story.

Most of the smaller supporting roles were played by locals. The house they used is actually the home of the little girl who played the younger sister.

The cinematography was beautiful and spare.

Out of the 406 films screened over 25 days at SIFF, it won two Golden Space Needle Awards - One for Debra Granik the director, and one for Jennifer Lawrence.

It also took home four "Fool Serious" awards, which are awarded by the Full Series Passholders. Director and actress, cinematography and Best Picture of the festival.

I thought the writing was beyond awful. I was laughing at some of the things that were said such as "I already told you to shut up once with my mouth..." Beyond awful. I felt a lot of the writing was wrong for the characters.

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I wonder if the screenplay deviated a lot from the novel -- the author is a native of the locale depicted in Winter's Bone. I didn't think that "the writing was wrong for the characters" -- I'm assuming that you mean their actions as well as the dialog.

I wonder if the screenplay deviated a lot from the novel -- the author is a native of the locale depicted in Winter's Bone. I didn't think that "the writing was wrong for the characters" -- I'm assuming the you mean their actions as well as the dialog.

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IIRC from the screenwriter - who was at the Q&A after the film - I don't think they did. Also, they spent a lot of time trying to "get it right". This quote from a different source is rather telling:

Granik: Though the script had some very foreign phrases for us, Jen was familiar with some of them, having heard similar phrasing growing up.

Thanks for that link to that Q&A with the director/screenwriter! The language didn't strike me as "off" but I wondered since it obviously sounded so wrong, so dreadful to someone else. To my ear, it rang rather true.

If you disliked Frozen River, you likely will not care for Winter's Bone either. They are not equivalent films, but they both deal with a similar layer of the socio-economic stratum (i.e., those near the bottom who are barely surviving). As such, they are bound to have very depressing elements -- but I liked both movies because the characters and their stories really held my attention throughout the films.

Japanfan: I know that seeing both films in a theater, not on my tiny 19" TV, greatly added to the experience.

I watched Critics Choice Awards on TV. Winter's Bone was one of the 10 (?)movies nominated for Best Picture. Not a surprise. It will be a surprise if it gets an Oscar nomination, since it is an unknown film (though Jennifer Lawrence has a chance for Oscar nom too).

I watched Critics Choice Awards on TV. Winter's Bone was one of the 10 (?)movies nominated for Best Picture. Not a surprise. It will be a surprise if it gets an Oscar nomination, since it is an unknown film (though Jennifer Lawrence has a chance for Oscar nom too).

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Don't forget that the Oscar's now nominate 10 films for Best Picture. So, it could very well be on the list. There are a lot of films that are "unknown" that make the lists - "The Hurt Locker" anyone? In other words, they haven't opened in wide release. Or weren't seen by a lot of people. Which of course, is one of the reasons why there are now 10 films.

Not saying that it will will win - but I wouldn't be surprised to see it nominated.

With 10 films being nominated I almost feel like it is a lock for a nomination. Maybe not a lock but I would be more surprised if it weren't nominated than if it was...make sense? I, of course, disagree with it being nominated but I am only one opinion.

If you disliked Frozen River, you likely will not care for Winter's Bone either. They are not equivalent films, but they both deal with a similar layer of the socio-economic stratum (i.e., those near the bottom who are barely surviving). As such, they are bound to have very depressing elements -- but I liked both movies because the characters and their stories really held my attention throughout the films.

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I loved Frozen River, but didn't like Winter's Bone, and saw them both on video. Frozen River immediately draw me in and I quickly came to care about both of the characters. Winter's Bone had the opposite effect.

I loved Frozen River, but didn't like Winter's Bone, and saw them both on video. Frozen River immediately draw me in and I quickly came to care about both of the characters. Winter's Bone had the opposite effect.

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I can certainly see that -- liking Frozen River probably doesn't correlate that much to liking Winter's Bone. I think the reverse might hold, though. Winter's Bone is both bleaker and less accessible than Frozen River, with fewer sympathetic characters. Frozen River had a relationship (several actually) at its core; Winter's Bone had its central character on her desperate, mostly solo mission.

I absolutely love Winter's Bone. I think part of that has to do with the fact that I grew up in a place very similar to the one depicted in the film. I've found though that people who tend to like bleak films love the movie and those that don't, really don't care for it.

There's no way Jennifer Lawrence an the film won't get Oscar nominations. If anyone is going to beat Natalie Portman, it's going to be Lawrence.

I just saw it last night thanks to Redbox. I liked it a lot, even though it was very slow.

What I found most interesting was the focus on the different textures and general goings-on. It certainly isn't very plot-heavy, and only a few of the characters get more than a first look. But the feel of the movie was very distinctive and I found that an interesting choice to make. Probably an obvious one though, considering how realistically they tried to shoot it and how different that world is compared to what people are used to seeing.

Don't forget that the Oscar's now nominate 10 films for Best Picture. So, it could very well be on the list. There are a lot of films that are "unknown" that make the lists - "The Hurt Locker" anyone? In other words, they haven't opened in wide release. Or weren't seen by a lot of people. Which of course, is one of the reasons why there are now 10 films.

Not saying that it will will win - but I wouldn't be surprised to see it nominated.

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I know that Oscar started nominating 10 films since last year. Still, it will have to compete against box office hits/sci-fi movies, etc. It was logical that Critics choice nominated the film (they too have 10 nominations), but it may not make the Oscar list, other than Jennifer Lawrence for best actress.

I thought John Hawkes as the uncle did a splendid job too (the audience goes from hating him to liking him in the end), but there are so many supporting actor performances that I don't expect him to get the nom. He did get one for the SAG awards though.

I know that Oscar started nominating 10 films since last year. Still, it will have to compete against box office hits/sci-fi movies, etc.

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I think it is definitely "on the bubble". I've seen it described as a movie being "less than the sum of its performances". Which I think is fair, and is the way I felt about the film Mystic River. In any case, we'll know in a couple of days.

I thought John Hawkes as the uncle did a splendid job too (the audience goes from hating him to liking him in the end), but there are so many supporting actor performances that I don't expect him to get the nom. He did get one for the SAG awards though.

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I love John Hawkes. Did you ever see the TV show Profit? It was on Fox in 1997 and only aired about 4 eps before it was yanked. But there is a DVD with all 9 episodes that were filmed. He is in one called "Chinese Box". Awesome. And of course his role in Deadwood. I'd like to see him reunited with Timothy Olyphant for a few eps of Justified.

I think it is definitely "on the bubble". I've seen it described as a movie being "less than the sum of its performances". Which I think is fair, and is the way I felt about the film Mystic River. In any case, we'll know in a couple of days.

I love John Hawkes. Did you ever see the TV show Profit? It was on Fox in 1997 and only aired about 4 eps before it was yanked. But there is a DVD with all 9 episodes that were filmed. He is in one called "Chinese Box". Awesome. And of course his role in Deadwood. I'd like to see him reunited with Timothy Olyphant for a few eps of Justified.

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I had never heard of John Hawkes. I had never heard of the TV show and other things you mentioned either. I will check them out. Thanks.

Saw it last night and liked the show. Glad they showed a segment of society that rarely gets protrayed on tv and movies. However I think the plot itself was a bit silly and just like the movie Precious the people behind this movie rolled all the worse elements of this society up into one bundle which made the characters seem a weee bit too far fetched to be belived. But it is still one of the better movies i have seen in a while.

But like another poster said, it seems to be less than the sum of its parts. It failed to really engage me in a way that I expected. I have it on Netflix DVD and I may watch it again to give it another go.

I loved the themes of it, the portrayal of a segment of society that's rarely shown, and Jennifer Lawrence showed pockets of greatness. However, I think I may have been expecting too much of Frozen River, which is a film that I truly loved.

Out of the Best Actress nominees that I've seen this year (Benning, Lawrence, and Portman), I'd rank Lawrence third, Benning second, and Portman first.